14 DAY TRIAL // The Apple Design Awards 2010 is set to recognize iPhone OS applications that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation, technology adoption, and quality, Apple has announced on its website. Nothing about Mac apps whatsoever is mentioned, an aspect that has boggled the minds of many developers, TUAW reports.
The website has some pretty tight relationships with a number of developers, some of which are actual winners of Apple’s ADAs, TUAW says. Their responses on Apple’s choice to exclude Mac OS X from this year’s awards vary, but not by much.
For example, Aaron Hillegass, of Big Nerd Ranch, is quoted as saying, “It seems likely that in the future everyone will be using mobile devices to access data in the cloud. At the moment, however, the applications that we use all day, every day are desktop applications. Eliminating the Apple Design Awards for desktop applications in 2010 is premature and an insult to the thousands of programmers who devote their days to making the Mac desktop a fun and productive environment.”
Oliver Breidenbach, Boinx Software, chimes in with similar thoughts on the matter, saying, “[…] It is sad that Apple turns away from Mac desktop developers in what seems like a brutal fashion, but it is understandable that they focus their limited resources on the winning horse. At least, the momentum of the success of iPhone OS seems to fuel a growth in Mac sales, so keeping the momentum going is a smart thing and probably also benefits Mac developers.”
And while Justin Williams (Second Gear Software) also claims that, “The lack of Mac love leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth,” Niclas Bahn (Gravity Applications) asserts, “Yes, Apple is clearly focusing their attention on iPhone and iPad, which is understandable.”
Sherman Dickman, Postbox, Inc, also believes Apple should be given “the benefit of the doubt on this one.” Still, Dan Wood, Karelia Software, is one of the many who considers Apple’s move a bad one, stating, “It is a bit disappointing that Mac development seems to be ignored in the publicity for the conference.” He adds, “But then again, it seemed like that last year as well, and the week turned out to be a wonderful experience for Mac-only developers like us. Looking at the technical sessions scheduled, there will be plenty to keep us busy.”